Dhe first in the tennis world rankings has now admitted his own mistakes and apologized. Previously, Novak Djokovic had come under increasing pressure because more and more contradictions in the saga about his entry to Australia became known. The government has postponed the decision on the second and final withdrawal of his entry visa until at least Thursday morning. The draw for the Australian Open is scheduled for the evening (local time) – it would be helpful if it was decided by then whether the Serb will still be in Australia for the tournament. Meanwhile, his Czech sports mate Renata Voráčová has checked whether she can file claims for damages against Australia because her visa has been withdrawn.
Djokovic first admitted on Wednesday that he had Corona – the entry requirement to be able to travel to Australia without vaccinations – but that he had previously appeared in his home country without a mask. However, the defending champion spoke of “continued misinformation” about his behavior that needed to be corrected. According to his statement on the Internet, he was at a basketball tournament in Belgrade on December 14th. According to reports about some participants who tested positive, he underwent a rapid test with negative results and an “official and approved PCR test” on December 16. He had no symptoms, took another rapid test the next day with negative results, and then took part in an event with children without a mask. Only then did he receive the positive result of the PCR test from the previous day.
Nevertheless, the next day, December 18, he went to an interview and photo appointment with the French magazine L’Equipe. He then removed the mask for the recordings. “That was a mistake of assessment and it is clear that I should have postponed this commitment,” he now wrote. Meanwhile, “Der Spiegel” and the research group in Germany spoke of inconsistencies with regard to the PCR test reported by Djokovic. The QR codes of the two tests, positive on December 16, as Djokovic said on Wednesday, and negative on December 22, should raise questions. It could be that the positive test wasn’t done until December 26th. The 34-year-old has not commented on this in Melbourne so far.
The second allegation, which is more important for obtaining his visa, is based on an “administrative error” by his agent. When filling out Djokovic’s entry form, he ticked that the athlete had not been to a third country 14 days before entering Australia – which is not true, as also shown by pictures of him on the Internet. “It was human error and certainly not planned,” Djokovic tried to apologize. That, however, will not help him: because every person entering has to confirm on the forms that they are true. The pages are also displayed digitally again “to be read over” before the send button is pressed.
In that case, Australia would have every right to withdraw his visa. A Djokovic sentence also provokes the Australians: “We live in challenging times in a global pandemic and such mistakes sometimes happen,” wrote the tennis millionaire. Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a very early decision on Thursday last week by saying that “rules are rules”. Hundreds of Australians have not been given any errors in information on forms in the past months of the pandemic.
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Irrespective of this, Djokovic is threatened with deportation anyway because Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has the right to withdraw his visa a second time. This is still being checked. A spokeswoman said on Wednesday: “Mr Djokovic’s lawyers recently submitted additional extensive documents and supporting documents that should be relevant to the possible cancellation of Mr Djokovic’s visa.” This will of course extend the decision-making period. From a legal perspective, it would be the stroke of a pen for Hawke to expel the Serbs. Since this is a pure and exclusive ministerial decision, he only has to justify it by stating that an infection would pose a threat to Djokovic himself or others – so he does not even have to respond to any attempted fraud by the Serb. The omicron wave is rampant in Australia.
While the air for Djokovic “down-under” is noticeably thinner, Renata Voráčová goes back on the offensive in her home country. After a week in Australia she had been taken into deportation detention, had lost her nerve and had flown out on Sunday night. The professional players’ association WTA spoke of a “traumatic deportation” of the Czech: “Renata Voráčová followed the rules and procedures, received an entry permit on arrival, took part in a competition and then her visa was suddenly canceled even though she had done nothing wrong . ”She herself reports in the Deník newspaper:“ It was like in a film – a long interrogation with instructions such as ‘undress, get dressed’. Yuck, I don’t even want to think about it, let alone experience it again. “
The judge in Melbourne, after whose hearing the government granted Djokovic residence, also complained about the behavior of the Australian border guards. “In my darkest dreams I would never have expected something like this to happen to me in today’s world and in such a developed country,” said Voráčová: “I have traveled to almost every continent and played in countries that are in trouble. But that went too far! “
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